child marriage

Rajasthan government passes bill to register marriages including child marriages

The state government legislates a bill on compulsory registration of marriages, including child marriages, the opposition protested the amendment.

News Rajasthan

Rajasthan government on Friday approved a new law that mandates registration of marriages including child marriage. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators were not happy with the amendment and walked out of the assembly.

The parliament regulated the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriages (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which revises the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act, 2009. The bill states that information on child marriage must be provided by their parents within 30 days.

The opposition disagrees with the bill and questioned the need for the registration of child marriages, demanding the rollback of the bill. They claimed will legitimize child marriages and walked out of the House. 

As per the opposition, if this bill is enacted, it will be a black day for the assembly. This bill approves of child marriages and violates the present law in force against child marriages. The Congress government of the state said that the bill has been brought based on a Supreme Court order.

On the contrary, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Shanti Kumar Dhariwal clarified that “The bill does not state that child marriage is legal. As per the bill, after marriage, only registration is necessary. It does not signify that child marriage is legal. If the District Collector wishes, they can take against the child marriages”.

The government will now appoint an Additional District Marriage Registration Officer (DMRO) and block the marriage registration officers to register marriages. Earlier, only the DMRO was entitled to register the marriages in the state. 

Under Section 8 of the Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act, The marriage of the girl’s age less than 18 years and the boy’s age is less than 21 could be registered by the parents within 30 days by informing the registration officer.

 

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